The Psychology Behind Why Live Music Makes Us So Emotional

Whenever I go to a gig with friends, they make bets on how many times I will cry, before immediately launching into the Cry Count. Depending on the show, my hormones, and the vibes, this can be anything from one single cry to going right into the 20′s.

What can I say? Live music is just a religious experience for me.

It turns out that while my crying may be excessive (no comment), there is actually science behind why some of us weep at live music more than we do recorded music and honestly? It’s kind of sweet.

Why live music can make you teary

Earlier this year, psychology professor Sascha Frühholz at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and his colleagues composed 12 pieces of music, each lasting 30 seconds.

Half of these were composed with the intention of conveying negative emotions such as sadness and anger. These songs were slower, less harmonious and included more minor chords than the other half of the songs, which were written with the hopes of evoking positive emotions.

Then, they gathered 27 people who weren’t musically trained to listen to these songs twice. Once performed by a live pianist, heard through speakers, and one as a recording.

The pieces were played in a random order, and those listening weren’t told beforehand which ones were live and which songs were pre-recorded.

While the participants listened, their brain activity was monitored. Pianists were asked to change how quickly they played depending on what each participant’s brain activity looked like, to impact the listener’s emotions even more.

The researchers found that the live performances of both the more positive and the more negative pieces led to increased activity in the part of the brain believed to link sound to certain emotions.

In comparison, the pre-recorded songs caused less activity in this part of the brain.

“The findings show that live music intensifies our emotional response, probably due to its free-flowing, dynamic nature,” Frühholz told New Scientist.

“If you go to a live concert, you’re not alone,” said Frühholz. “This intensified emotional experience is also a social experience.”

The researchers say they want to do the experiment again, this time with a much larger audience in a concert-style environment.